Chicory, Cicoria Catalogna Gigante Di Chioggia

Cicoria Catalogna Gigante Di Chioggia. Mid-early. Upright plant with a large closely wrapped head.  The intense green, serrated leaves are tall with large ribs. The plant forms a powerful raised rosette. The leaves are very delicate, elongated, green. Petioles are white. Young leaves contain a large amount of vitamin C, carotene, B vitamins, valuable organic acids.  For a continuous harvest of leaves, sowing is carried out from April to August. In the summer and autumn seasons, the leaves are cut off repeatedly as they grow back. Very large plant, thin stems with some leaves. Larger plant than Pugliese which it resembles.  70-75 days. Best in Fall. Use in salads or cook. Space at 10 inches between plants, 12 inches between rows. If used as a cutting chicory (very nice salad green) broadcast sow trying to get seeds an inch or so apart. 40 or so days for salad size.

Usually (and confusingly) sold as "dandelion greens" in the US, Catalogna absolutely shines as a looseleaf braising/sauteing green. Long slender serrated leaves have nice substantial and succulent stems to add some sweetness to the leaf's pleasing bitterness. The leaf stems can even be ribboned and used similar to puntarelle (which is actually a specialty subset of the Catalogna type). Easier to grow and more forgiving than many of the heading type.

“Catalogna varieties of chicory, sometimes called asparagus chicory, grow in bushy bunches of long, white stemmed leaves that have a mildly bitter taste. Giant of Chioggia is grown primarily for its tall, thin stems. Can be used young in salads, or grown to maturity for cooking. The River Café Cookbook Green has several excellent receipes.

Sow direct in autumn and into spring and thin to 10-15 cm. Mature plants are best harvested in cool weather and can tolerate modest frost, but when small can be grown at anytime. 40+ days for salad size,70-75 days to full size. Good resistance to cold weather. 6g about 6000 seeds.

Approximately 600-900 seeds per gram.